The Last Stand
by Rogue-Slayer13
Summary: How X3 would've went if Gambit had been in it.
1. Not Your Average Damsel

The Last Stand

Chapter 1: Not Your Average Damsel

By: Rogue-Slayer13

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of X-Men; they belong to their respective creators.

Summary: How the third movie would've went if Gambit was in it.

NOTE: I changed somethings in this story to in order to work in some new ideas.

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Tears slid down Rogue's cheek, but she couldn't tell if they were from anger or sadness as she hurriedly stuffed some clothes and a few other items into the duffle bag on her bed. She knew things between her and Bobby hadn't been the same lately, but she didn't realize exactly how much they'd changed until she saw him skating on the fountain with Kitty. Bobby was one of the few students at Xavier's who didn't treat her like a freak because of her power, and probably the only one willing to get close enough to be in a relationship with her. Now that he'd obviously moved on to something better, there was no one left for her to be close to. Rogue wiped away her tears with the back of her hand, before slinging the duffle bag over her shoulder and heading downstairs. She was almost to the front door when a voice stopped her.

"Need a ride kid?"

Rogue turned around to see Logan standing at the foot of the stairs.

"I'll be fine," Rogue replied. "I'm gonna catch a cab."

"All right," Logan commented as he turned to head down the hall.

"Aren't ya gonna tell me to go back up to my room and unpack, or something?" Rogue asked in shock.

"Hey, I'm not your father," Logan replied as he turned back around to face Rogue. "I'm your friend. If you want to go, then I'm not going to stop you. You've just got to make sure this is what _you _want to do."

"It is."

"Then I'll see you around, Rogue," Logan commented as he turned around once again and headed down the hallway.

"Marie," Rogue called after him, causing Logan to turn to look at her. "My name's Marie."

"Marie," Logan repeated with a nod before walking away.

Rogue watched him walk down the hallway before she turned and headed out the front door of Xavier's.

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"Rogue, I want to talk to you for a second," Bobby said as he tapped on his girlfriend's door.

When he didn't get an answer, Bobby tried the door and was a little surprised to find it unlocked.

"Rogue?" Bobby called as he opened the door and stuck his head inside, only to find the room empty and almost completely stripped of its contents.

Bobby quickly turned and headed back out into the hallway, where he ran into Colossus, who was moving a TV.

"Hey Pete, have you seen Rogue?" Bobby asked.

"Yeah, she left a couple of hours ago," Pete replied as he shifted the TV to his other shoulder.

"Do you know where she went?"

"I think she said something about getting the cure," Colossus said, causing Bobby's face to fall.

"Thanks, Pete," Bobby said as he turned and headed downstairs.

"No problem," Pete called over his shoulder.

Bobby hurried down the stairs and ran straight into Logan, which caused him to fall flat on his back.

"Where's the fire, kid?" Logan asked, as he looked down at Bobby, who was sprawled at his feet.

"Rogue's gone!" Bobby replied quickly.

"Yeah, I know," Logan said as he offered Bobby a hand up. "She left a while ago."

"Well?" Bobby asked expectantly as he got to his feet.

"Well what?"

"Aren't you going to go and get her?"

"It's not Logan's job to watch over Rogue."

Bobby and Logan both turned to see Storm and Hank McCoy coming toward them.

"She doesn't know what she's doing," Bobby explained. "There's nothing wrong with her. She doesn't need to be cured!"

"I'm afraid it's up to Rogue to decide that," Hank said. "We can't make that choice for her, no matter what the risks may be."

"Well, if you're not going to go get her than I am," Bobby commented as he headed for the front door.

"Should I go and stop him?" Logan asked as Bobby stormed outside.

"Let him go," Storm replied. "This is something he needs to do."

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Rogue looked down at her glass of water and then at the almost deserted bar around her, and couldn't help but be reminded of the time she met Logan. Heck, the only different between the seedy little place she was in now and the bar in Canada was that this place didn't have a steel cage in the middle of it. Other than that the two were indistinguishable from each other.

"Why don't you let me buy you a real drink, sweetie?"

"No thanks," Rogue replied as she glanced up to see three men standing next to her. "I'll just stick with water."

"Oh come on," the first guy said as he sat down next to Rogue and his friends came to sit on the other side of her. "One drink won't kill you."

"I'm fine, really," Rogue commented.

"Not even one little drink?" the second guy asked as he put his hand on Rogue's knee. "Please?" The guy began to slowly move his hand farther and up Rogue's leg.

"I said no," Rogue stated as she pushed the guy's hand off of her leg and got up and walked out of the bar.

It was raining outside and Rogue pulled the hood up on her coat before hurrying down the street. She made it a few yards away from the bar before someone grabbed a hold of her gloved wrist and yanked her roughly into a nearby alley.

"When someone offers to buy you a drink, the polite thing to do is to accept," the man from the bar said gruffly into Rogue's ear. "Now if you won't have a drink with us, maybe you'll do something else, huh?"

"Let me go!" Rogue demanded as she struggled to yank her arm free from the man's grasp.

"She's a feisty one, ain't she?" the first man commented with a grin to his friends.

"Yeah, she'll be a lot of fun to play around with," the second man guy commented as he ran a hand down her cheek.

As soon as his fingers made contact with her skin, Rogue felt the familiar pull of her powers as they kicked in. the man let out a groan before falling to the ground unconscious.

"She's one of those damn mutie freaks!" the man holding Rogue exclaimed as he looked down at his unconscious friend and then at Rogue.

"I know just what to do with her type," the second man said, as he pulled a knife out of his pocket and took a step toward Rogue.

As the man took another step forward, what appeared to be a glowing playing card hit his hand and exploded on impact. The man yelled in pain and quickly dropped his knife, so he could examine his slightly singed fingers.

"How'd you do that?" the man demanded as he glared at Rogue.

"She didn't, I did."

Rogue turned her head to see a tall figure standing a few yards away from her, but it was too dark in the alley for her to make out much else about the newcomer.

"Who the hell are you?" the man asked as he glared at the newcomer.

Moving quicker than Rogue thought was possible the new guy lashed out and hit the man in the face with what appeared to be a long staff. The man stumbled back, both of his hands covering his now bleeding nose. The guy took this moment of weakness to hit the man several more times with the bo staff. Upon seeing that his friend was quickly losing the fight, the man holding Rogue tossed her roughly to the ground where she hit her hand and tore one of her gloves, before joining in the fight. The mystery guy pulled out several more playing cards and tossed them at the second guy in quick succession, each one letting off a small explosion as it made contact with its target. The guy landed a good kick to the first man's head, knocking him out before spinning around and slamming his bo staff into the other man's face. Both men crumpled to the ground next to their fallen partner unconscious. The mystery guy then hit a button on the side of his staff, causing it to shrink down to a manageable size before slipping it into one of his coat pockets.

"Are y' okay?" the guy asked as he came and knelt down in front of Rogue.

"Yeah, I'm all right," Rogue said as she looked at the three unconscious men in front of her.

"Y' sure?" the guy asked as he helped Rogue to her feet.

Rogue looked up to reply to her rescuer and froze. Standing before her had to be, without a doubt, the most gorgeous guy she'd ever seen. To say this guy was hot would've been an understatement. He was tall, easily over six feet, with shaggy auburn colored hair that was currently plastered down over his eyes. He was wearing black boots, jeans, a gray t-shirt, a brown trench coat, and a pair of dark sunglasses that completely covered his eyes.

"Y' sure you're okay?" the guy repeated as he looked at Rogue.

Rogue nodded her head and then winced in pain. Reaching her hand up, Rogue pulled it away to find that she was bleeding from a cut on her temple. Just then one of the guys who'd give her trouble groaned and began to sit up.

"We better get outta here before dis place turns into a circus," the guy said as he grabbed Rogue's hand in his own gloved one and lead her quickly out of the alley.

Rogue's mind was busy trying to process all that had happened in the last few minutes and so her body was functioning on autopilot. Rogue followed the guy as he hurried out of the alley, her hand still clutched protectively in his, and out to the street where a motorcycle was parked.

"Hop on," the guy said as he swung a leg over the bike.

Rogue hesitated, her training as an X-Man suddenly kicking in.

"Do y' trust me?" the guy asked as he looked over at Rogue.

"I barely know ya," Rogue replied as she looked at her surroundings, trying to find a place she could run to in case the guy on the bike suddenly got weird.

"Yeah, but do y' trust me?" the guy asked with a ghost of a grin.

Every fiber in Rogue's being was screaming at her to turn around and run, and yet, as she looked at the guy sitting on the bike in front of her in the pouring down rain, Rogue couldn't help but take a step forward. Next thing she knew, Rogue was climbing on the motorcycle behind the guy as he kick started the engine.

"Hang on," the guy said as he revved the engine.

The bike suddenly sped away from the bar, and Rogue quickly wrapped her arms tightly around the guy's waist and buried her face in between his shoulder blades. The guy expertly weaved the bike in and out of traffic, causing Rogue to fear for her safety on several occasions. When the bike finally stopped in a park, Rogue was still more than a little scared from the drive and she didn't immediately let go of her mystery hero.

"Y' can let go now," the guy said as he put the kick stand down on the bike.

"Right, sorry," Rogue apologized as she quickly let go of the guy and got off the bike, a slight blush creeping up her cheeks.

"M' name's Remy by the way," the guy said as he climbed off the bike as well. "Or Gambit if we're talking business."

"Marie, but most people call me Rogue," the southern belle replied. "Ya know I never really thanked ya for saving me back there."

"It was not'ing really," Remy said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"Oh? So do ya make a habit of saving young damsels?" Rogue asked as she walked around the bike and came to stand in front of Remy.

"I get de feeling dat you're far from being a damsel," Remy replied with a grin as he looked down at Rogue.

"Yeah, well what can I say? I guess I'm just a bad actress."

"Oh and she be a funny one too," Remy replied with a grin as the two began to walk through the park.

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"Are you sure we're doing the right thing by letting Rogue go?" Storm asked she, Logan, and Hank McCoy talked in the mansion's library.

"I can understand why some mutants would want to fit in," Hank replied.

Just then there was a tap at the door and the group looked up to see a young man with blonde hair standing in the doorway. "This might not be the best time," the young man said. "But I heard this was a safe place for mutants."

"It was," Hank said somewhat sadly.

"It still is," Storm stated as she looked at the young man. "What's your name?"

"Warren."

"Hank, tell the kids the school's going to stay open," Storm said before turning her attention back to Warren. "I'll see if I can find you a room."

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Bobby walked into the rec room of the mansion and flopped down on the couch. He'd looked all over the neighborhood for Rogue and all he'd succeeded in doing was getting completely soaked by the rain. Wherever she was, Rogue wasn't hiding in any of her usual hang out spots.

"You okay?"

Bobby looked up to see Kitty standing in the doorway of the rec room.

"I guess so," Bobby replied with a shrug. "I've looked all over for Rogue and I can't find her anywhere."

"You'll find her," Kitty said reassuringly as she sat down next to Bobby on the couch.

"I just hope she's okay is all."

"I'm sure she is," Kitty said as she put a comforting hand on Bobby's shoulder. "Rogue's a fighter, I'm sure she can take care of herself."

"That's what they keep telling me," Bobby commented with a sigh.

"Hey, why don't you go and get changed and then we can watch a movie or something?" Kitty suggested, trying to get Bobby to cheer up some.

Bobby thought about it for a moment before nodding his head. "That sounds all right."

"Great! You go and change and I'll make some popcorn," Kitty said as she headed into the kitchen.

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"I still feel like I should thank ya for helping me out back there," Rogue commented as she and Remy came to stand in front of the swings.

"I told y' already not to worry about it," Remy replied as he sat down in one of the swings and began to push himself back and forth with his feet.

"I know," Rogue said as she sat down in the swing next to Remy and began to swing as well.

The two swung back and forth in comfortable silence, until Remy broke it.

"Wanna see who can go de highest?" Remy asked with a grin.

"You're on Swamp Rat," Rogue replied with a grin of her own.

"_Swamp_ _Rat_?" Remy asked as he began to swing higher. "How'd y' come up wit' dat one?"

"Ya are Cajun, aren't ya?" Rogue asked, leaning back in the swing so she could go higher as well.

Remy nodded. "Dat I am, _chere_."

"Well, than that makes ya a Swamp Rat," Rogue stated, earning a chuckle out of Remy.

"How'd y' know I was Cajun anyway?" Remy asked as the two continued to swing higher and higher.

"Between the Southern drawl and the fluent French, there's not much else ya could be," Rogue replied as the two continued to swing high and higher.

"Well, den what's dat make y'?" Remy asked.

"Mississippi born an' bred," Rogue replied with a hint of pride in her voice.

"Why don' we see who can jump de fart'est, _non_?" Remy suggested with a grin.

"You're on, Cajun," Rogue replied with a matching grin.

"_Un, deux, TROIS_!"

With that Remy leapt out of his swing and landed gracefully on his feet. He was joined a few seconds later by a not so graceful Rogue, who tripped and stumbled forward. Remy reached out an arm and caught her around the waist, but unfortunately this only served to send them both crashing to the ground in a laughing heap of tangled limbs. The two continued to laugh for several minutes, until they stopped and settled for looking up at the night sky.

"Mind if I ask y' a question?" Remy asked breaking the comfortable silence that had descended on the two.

"Go a head," Rogue replied, still looking up at the sky.

"Where were y' runnin' off to back dere?" Remy asked, rolling onto his side so he could get a better look at the girl next to him.

Rogue turned her head to look at Remy, her own face looking back at her from the reflection in his sunglasses.

"Why do you still have those on?" Rogue asked, gesturing to Remy's sunglasses with her hand.

"Cause de make me look cool," Remy replied with a grin, moving his head slightly so it was just out of Rogue's reach. "Now dat I've answered your question, are y' gonna answer mine?"

"I was gonna go get the cure if ya must know," Rogue replied.

"Well, it's too late to do dat tonight," Remy commented as he got up. "I can take y' home if y' want me to t'ough."

"I don't know if I belong back there anymore," Rogue said as Remy helped her to her feet. "That's part of the reason why I left in the first place." Rogue turned and looked back in the direction of the Institute.

Remy looked around the park until his eyes fell on his motorcycle, which was parked a few yards away.

"Come wit' me," Remy said suddenly as he turned to look back at Rogue.

"What?" Rogue turned to look at the Cajun standing next to her.

"Y' obviously aren't lookin' forward to goin' back home, and it's too late for me to take y' to de clinic tonight. Y' can come crash at my place and I'll drop y' off at de clinic first t'ing in de mornin'," Remy explained. "Alt'ough personally, I don't t'ink dere's anyt'ing wrong wit' y' now, but it's your decision, so I'm not gonna get in de way."

"How do I know ya won't attack me in the night or somethin'?" Rogue asked.

"Well, for starters, de night's half over," Remy pointed out with a grin. "And secondly, if I was gonna do dat, den why would I've saved y' earlier?"

Rogue thought about Remy's explanation for a while before nodding her head.

"I guess that would be okay," Rogue replied.

"Come on then, it's getting' late and you're gonna want to get some sleep if I'm suppose to take y' to de clinic in de mornin'," Remy said as he and Rogue headed back toward his bike.

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To Be Continued . . .

Love it? Hate it? Tell me what you think!


	2. Friend of Yours?

The Last Stand

Chapter 2: Friend of Yours?

By: Rogue-Slayer13

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of X-Men; they belong to their respective creators.

Summary: How the third movie would've went if Gambit was in it.

NOTE: I had to change some stuff in this story in order to work in some new ideas.

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Remy drove back to his apartment, which wasn't too far away from the park. He pulled into the parking lot and killed the engine on the bike. No sooner then he had, Rogue hopped off the back of the bike and looked up at Remy's building nervously.

_This is crazy_. Rogue thought to herself as Remy got off his bike and headed toward his building. _This is crazy and dangerous and I'm probably going to get myself killed._

"Y' coming, _petite_?" Remy asked with a slight grin.

_On second thought, he seems really nice and he hasn't tried to kill me yet_. Rogue thought as she grabbed her bag and followed Remy up to his apartment.

"Here it is," Remy said as he opened the door to his apartment and turned on the nearest light. "It isn't much, but it gets me by."

"I like it," Rogue commented as she looked around the apartment, which was actually nicer then she was expecting. "Not exactly the bachelor pad I had in mind."

Rogue was expecting the apartment to look like one of the guys' rooms back at the Institute, which were usually messy and full of boxes of half eaten pizza and dirty laundry. This place was the exact opposite; it was actually clean and hospitable to live in. The front door opened up into the living room, which was separated from the kitchen by small bar-type counter that had barstools around it. A hallway, which Rogue assumed lead to the bedroom and bathroom, came off the living room.

"Is dat a compliment or an insult?" Remy asked as he took his coat off and tossed it onto a nearby armchair.

"Definitely a compliment," Rogue replied, sitting down on a nearby barstool. "Most teenage guys have food in their rooms that's almost as old as they are. Not to mention the mountains of dirty laundry they have lying all over the place."

"Ah, but _chere_, de purpose is to leave it lyin' around until it can walk itself to de washing machine," Remy joked with a grin as he sat down on one of the barstools across from Rogue. "It saves on time and effort."

"I bet," Rogue stated as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"When'd y' tear your glove?" Remy asked, as he pointed to the aforementioned item.

Rogue paused in pushing her hair back to glance at her hand. "It must've happened when that creep knocked me down," Rogue said as she ran her finger over the torn palm of her glove. "Man and this was my favorite pair too. Oh well, I've got others in my bag."

Rogue took off the torn pair of gloves and set them on Remy's kitchen counter, before pulling her sleeves down over her hands and crossing her arms over her chest. The last thing she needed was to absorb the guy, who not only saved her ass, but who was also going to take her to get the cure.

"It's getting' late," Remy commented.

"Kinda," Rogue replied with a yawn.

"Y' can sleep in de bed and I'll sleep out here on de couch," Remy said as he nodded toward the couch.

"Ya don't have to sleep on the couch on a count of me," Rogue replied as she stood up. "I mean, this is your apartment and I don't mind sleeping on the couch."

"Nonsense," Remy said with a wave of his hand. "You're my guest and what kind of gentleman would I be if I made y' sleep on de couch?"

"I really wouldn't mind."

"But I would," Remy said as he stood up as well. "Now de bedroom's down de hall on de right and de bathroom's right across from it." Remy gestured in the direction of each room as he mentioned. "And I won't be offended if y' feel safer lockin' de bedroom door."

"All right," Rogue said as she headed toward the bedroom. "Night, Cajun."

"_Bon nuit, Cherie_," Remy replied as Rogue shut the bedroom door behind her.

Remy turned and was about to head into the living room when his eyes fell on Rogue's discarded gloves. Postponing any thoughts of sleep, Remy picked the gloves up, and idea forming in his mind.

_Her favorite pair_. Remy thought as he ran a gloved thumb over the tear in Rogue's glove.

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Rogue woke up the next morning and looked around the bedroom for a second, momentarily confused by the unfamiliar surroundings until she remembered where she was. Rogue smiled as she thought back to the night before. Despite the whole getting attacked part, it had actually been a fun night and Remy seemed like a really nice, not to mention hot, guy.

_What's wrong with you!_ A voice inside Rogue's head scolded as she got out of bed. _You hardly know this guy. He could turn out to be a total creep for all you know!_

"Ah, shut up," Rogue mumbled to the voice as she got dressed and headed out of the bedroom.

Rogue walked into the living room, to find Remy sitting at the counter reading the newspaper.

"There's coffee here in the kitchen if you want it," Remy said, not turning around to look at Rogue.

"Okay," Rogue replied as she walked into the kitchen. "My lord that smells good."

"Of course it does, I brewed it myself," Remy said with a smile.

"Good thing you're not full of yourself or anything," Rogue teased playfully as she came over with her coffee and sat down next to the Cajun.

Remy grinned at her from over the newspaper and Rogue noticed that his sunglasses were still on.

"I've got somet'ing for y'," Remy said as he reached over and picked something up off of the barstool next to him. "I remembered dat y' said dey were your favorite pair, so I fixed dem for y'." Remy set Rogue's gloves down on counter in front of her.

"Ya didn't have to do that," Rogue said as she picked up the gloves and looked over at Remy.

"You've said dat a lot sense we've met," Remy commented as Rogue put the gloves on.

Rogue looked down at her palm where it was hardly noticeable that the gloves had been torn the night before. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it," Remy replied with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"Ya know, you've said that a lot sense we met," Rogue pointed out with a grin.

"Come on, y' better finish your coffee if I'm gonna take y' to de clinic," Remy said with a smile as he got up and grabbed his coat. "Y' can leave your stuff here and we'll come back for it after you're done."

"Yeah," Rogue replied, her grin fading as she looked down at the counter. She'd almost forgotten about why she was at Remy's in the first place, about running away to get the cure, about her and Bob—

"Y' okay, _petite_?" Rogue looked up to see Remy looking at her from in the living room.

"I'm fine," Rogue answered as she got up and put her glass in the sink, before heading into the living room. "Let's go." Rogue walked past Remy and out of the apartment.

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"Whoa! Where's the fire?" Kitty asked as she bumped into Bobby as he rushed past her in the hallway.

"The cure clinics opened half an hour ago," Bobby informed. "I figure if I hurry, I can try and catch Rogue before she goes in."

"Bobby, there's like a ton of clinics in New York City alone, how do you know which one she's going to be at?"

"I don't," Bobby replied. "I guess I'm just going to have to hit them all." Bobby turned continued on down the hall.

"Bobby wait!" Kitty called hurrying to catch up to him. "Two sets of eyes are like way better than one. Let me give you a hand."

Bobby looked at Kitty for a minute, before a small smile crept across his face. "Thanks, Kitty."

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The ride over to the clinic was spent mostly in silence and before Rogue knew it, Remy was easing the Harley to a stop a little ways up from the clinic. Rogue looked around and saw that both the sidewalk in front of the clinic and the one across the street were crowded with people, the former full of mutants hoping to get the cure and the latter filled with protesters. Police barricades separated one group from the other and a large number of police were stationed throughout the area.

"Y' sure about dis, _chere_? It seems a lil' extreme if y' ask me," Remy stated as he swung his leg over the bike and got off.

"I need to do this," Rogue replied, getting off the bike as well. "Besides, this is what I want." Rogue's tone was only half convincing and Remy eyed her for a moment.

"Well, let's go den," Remy commented as Rogue moved past him and toward the clinic.

Remy had been forced to park his bike on the opposite side of the street from the clinic and the only way across the street was through a throng of cure protesters. Rogue kept her arms close to her sides as she and Remy made their way through the crowd, which seemed to get rowdier the closer they got to the clinic. Her increasing discomfort gave way to panic when she looked over and noticed that Remy was no longer beside her. She frantically scanned the crowd for the Cajun and nearly had a heart attack when a hand clasped her on the shoulder. Rogue whirled around only to find Remy standing behind her.

"Ya nearly gave me a heart attack, Cajun," Rogue stated as she held a hand over her heart, which was beating rapidly.

"At de rate you're movin' it'll take us all day just to get across de street," Remy commented with a grin, which earned him a look from Rogue. "Come on, stay close to me."

Rogue held on tightly to Remy's coat sleeve as he deftly made his way through the crowd and in a matter of moments the two were on the other side of the street. Although the crowd outside the clinic was less threatening then the one across the street, there were still a lot of them and Rogue unconsciously tried to shy away from them as she and Remy stepped into line.

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"Wow, this place is a madhouse," Kitty commented as she and Bobby got out of the car a couple of block down from the clinic.

"Yeah," Bobby said as he surveyed the crowd around them. "I think divide and concur's gonna be our best chance. You check down there and I'll head this way. Come and fine me when you're done."

"Sounds like a plan," Kitty replied as she and Bobby headed off in separate directions.

Bobby made his way down the crowded sidewalk, trying to scan both the crowd around him as well as the group across the street for Rogue.

"Getting the cure so you can go home to mommy and daddy, Drake?" Bobby turned around and came face to face with John.

"I'm looking for someone," Bobby replied, glancing around the crowd for Rogue.

"Oh I get it, it's your girlfriend, isn't it? Figures she'd want the cure. She's pathetic!" John commented, smirking as Bobby clenched his fist and ice began to creep up his arm. "Go ahead _Iceman_, make a move." John lit up a fireball in the palm of one hand.

Bobby's frozen fist clenched and unclenched as the two stared each other down.

"Bobby I can't find —" Kitty dropped off mid-sentence as she caught sight of John. "Uh oh."

Bobby glanced over his shoulder at Kitty and then looked back at John for a moment before sighing and relaxing his fist.

"Come on Kitty, let's get out of here," Bobby said as he turned away from John.

"Same old Bobby, still afraid of a fight," John commented as Bobby started to walk away from him.

Bobby turned back around to reply just in time to see John unleash a stream of fire straight at the clinic. Bobby subconsciously put an arm out to keep Kitty safely behind him as the windows of the clinic exploded. The crowd around them started to dissolve in chaos as everyone began to hurry as far away from the burning building as they could get.

"Come on, Bobby, we should get back to the Institute," Kitty stated as she pulled Bobby away from the clinic. "I have a feeling this is only going to get worse."

Bobby glanced around for John, but he'd already disappeared.

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Remy had been standing outside the clinic with Rogue for what seemed liked hours, when he caught sight of something across the street out the corner of his eye. Remy turned his head just in time to see a wave a fire coming straight toward the clinic. Instinct taking over, Remy grabbed a hold of Rogue, wrapping his arms protectively around her just as the windows of the clinic exploded. The force of the explosion sent them both crashing to the ground, broken glass and debris raining down around them.

Rogue lifted her head into time to see a familiar figure turn and disappear into the crowd. "John."

"Friend of yours?" Remy asked as he carefully got to his feet and brushed himself off.

"Not anymore," Rogue replied as Remy reached down and pulled her to her feet.

"Why don't we get outta here before someone else comes and blows de place up?" Remy asked with a smile as Rogue brushed off her jeans.

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To Be Continued . . .

Sorry for such a long break in between updates. School's been crazy, but I'll try to update quicker in the future!

Love it? Hate it? Tell me what you think!


	3. Getting to Know You

The Last Stand

Chapter 3: Getting to Know You

By: Rogue-Slayer13

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of X-Men; they belong to their respective creators.

Summary: How the third movie would've went if Gambit was in it.

NOTE: I changed a few details in this story. Nothing too big, but you might want to reread the first chapter again,

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"Good idea," Rogue replied as she followed Remy across the street. Sirens could be heard blaring in the distance and people were hurrying in every direction. Remy glanced over his shoulder to make sure Rogue was behind him before making his way through the crowd.

"Now what do we do?" Rogue asked as the two made it back to Remy's bike.

"Dere's another clinic in town if y' still want me to take y'," Remy informed as he got on the bike.

"I think maybe we should hold of on that for right now," Rogue stated as she glanced back at the burning clinic across the street. Suddenly, she wasn't in such a hurry to be normal.

"Well, in dat case, why don't we get something to eat?" Remy suggested. "All dis near death stuff makes me hungry."

Rogue was about to comment, when her stomach growled. "Me too actually," Rogue replied as she got on the bike behind Remy.

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"Where are you going?" Storm asked as she stepped inside Logan's room.

"Where do you think?" Logan replied as he continued taking clothes out of the dresser and putting them in a duffle bag.

"She's gone, Logan, and she's not coming back."

"You don't know that," Logan replied curtly.

"She killed Scott and the Professor too."

"That wasn't Jean," Logan replied throwing more clothes into the duffle bag. "The Jean I know is still in there." Logan zipped up the bag and headed for the door.

"Listen," Storm said as she moved to block Logan's exit. "Why can't you accept the truth? Why can't you let her go?"

"Because . . . because—"

"Because you love her?" Storm finished as Logan turned away angrily. "She made her choice, now it's time we made ours. So if you're with us, be with us." Storm turned and walked back out of the room.

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"Y' never did explain to me what was so bad about your powers dat y' want to get rid of dem," Remy commented as he and Rogue sat in a nearby diner.

"You didn't give me the low down on your powers either," Rogue pointed out casually.

Remy leaned across the table. "I'll show y' mine, if y' show me yours," Remy stated as he raised his eyebrows suggestively.

Rogue rolled her eyes at Remy. "When I touch somebody, I absorb their life force, and if they're a mutant, their powers too."

"And y' can't control it, can y'?" Remy asked.

"No," Rogue replied as she looked down at her gloved hands. "And very few people want to get close to you when they think you're gonna kill them just by shaking their hand."

"That's their problem, _Chere_," Remy stated as he reached across the table and placed his hand on top of Rogue's. "Not yours."

"Thanks," Rogue said as she looked up at Remy and smiled. "And now I believe it's your turn to share."

"I can charge up objects and make dem explode," Remy informed as he leaned back in the booth.

"What about the sunglasses? I'm assumin' there's a reason ya always wear them."

"Most people don't like de way my eyes look," Remy replied as he reached up and took off his sunglasses. Rogue looked up and found herself slightly awestruck by Remy's eyes. Instead of being any of the typical colors you'd expect to find, Remy's eyes were a deep black with almost glowing red irises.

"Well, that's their problem," Rogue replied, repeating Remy's words from a few moments before. "Not yours."

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Storm let out a sigh and sat down at the bottom of the stairs.

"A penny for your thoughts?"

Storm looked up to see Hank a few feet away from her.

"Hey, Hank," Storm greeted with a small smile.

"What seems to be troubling you?" Hank asked as he took a seat on the stairs next to Storm.

"I feel like we keep slipping farther and farther apart," Storm said. "This is a time when we should be standing together as a team, and instead we're scattered all over the place. How are we supposed to do our job when half of us don't even know what side they want to be on?"

"How we use our abilities and for what purpose is something we must all ask ourselves," Hank explained in a very Xavier like fashion. "You can't make other's choices for them. You must simply pray they make the right ones."

Just then the front door opened and a Bobby and Kitty rushed in, both looking rather anxious.

"What's wrong?" Hank asked.

"We went to the cure clinic to see if we could find Rogue," Bobby replied.

"Did you find her?" Storm asked, quickly getting to her feet.

Bobby shook his head in the negative. "No, but we did run into Pyro."

"He torched the place," Kitty added.

"You might want to come take a look at this," Pete interjected as he appeared in the doorway leading to the rec room.

The others followed after Pete to find the majority of the mansion's residents already gathered in front of the TV, where Magneto was delivering a message.

"Today's attack was only our first salver," Magneto began his TV address. "So long as the cure exists, our war will rage. Your cities will not be safe. Your streets will not be safe. _You_ will not be safe. And to my fellow mutants, I make you this offer: join us or stay out of our way. Enough mutant blood has been spilled already . . ."

_What are we going to do_? Storm thought to herself as she looked at the TV.

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Rogue and Remy were talking in the diner when something over Remy's shoulder caught Rogue's attention, causing her to stop mid-sentence.

"What's wrong, _Chere_?" Remy asked as Rogue got quiet.

"On the TV," Rogue replied motioning behind Remy.

Remy shifted in the booth so he could see the TV, which was programmed to the news channel.

"Today's attack was only our first salver," Magneto's voice seemed to fill the diner. "So long as the cure exists, our war will rage . . ."

"He's de one behind de clinic attack?" Remy asked as he looked over at Rogue.

"I had a feeling he was," Rogue replied, as the other patrons in the diner began to get more and more spooked by Magneto's threat.

". . . And to my fellow mutants, I make you this offer: join us or stay out of our way . . ."

"Maybe we should get out of here," Rogue suggested as she glanced around the diner. "We don't want to overstay our welcome."

"Good idea," Remy replied, leaving some cash on the table to cover the bill before following Rogue outside.

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Logan could hear the crowd cheering for Magneto as he made his way out of the woods and toward the clearing where the camp was. Not wanting to gather attention to himself, he grabbed a jacket from a nearby tent and slipped it on as he made his way through the crowd. It didn't take him long to spot Jean standing next to Magneto as he addressed the crowd. She looked up at him for a moment before turning and walking off into the woods, Logan following after her.

"Jean?" Logan called as he caught sight of her.

Jean stopped and turned to look at Logan, the two locking eyes for several moments. Suddenly, Logan felt himself sailing through the air and being slammed forcefully up against a tree.

"I'd know the smell of your adamantium from a mile away," Magneto informed as he stepped forward, his fist outstretched to hold Logan in place.

"I didn't come here to fight you," Logan commented through gritted teeth. "I came here for Jean."

"Do you honestly think I'm keeping her against her will?" Magneto inquired as he opened his fist and used his powers to drag Logan closer to him. "She's here because she wants to be."

"I'm not leaving here without her," Logan replied, wincing slightly at the pain of being held up by the adamantium in his body.

"Yes, you are," Magneto replied calmly as he flicked his wrist and sent Logan soaring backward through the trees.

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"What's wrong, _Chere_?" Remy asked as he came to sit next to Rogue on the couch. Rogue had seemed lost in thought and hadn't said more than a few words since the two of them left the diner that afternoon.

"Nothing," Rogue replied, looking away from the TV which was dominated by news coverage regarding the cure and the clinic attack. "I've just been thinking is all."

"About your friends back home?" Remy asked, cocking his head to the side as he looked at Rogue.

"How'd ya know?"

"Lucky guess," Remy replied with a grin. "I can tell somet'ing's been botherin' y' since we were at de clinic dis mornin'."

"Wow, cute and perceptive," Rogue commented with a ghost of a smile.

"So, y' t'ink I'm cute?" Remy asked, his grin getting bigger as Rogue suddenly realized what she'd said.

"I—I don't . . . it's just . . . I—" Rogue stammered, a blush quickly working its way onto her cheeks.

"It's all right, _Chere_," Remy stated casually, as he leaned in close to Rogue and whispered in her ear. "I t'ink you're cute too." Remy smirked at Rogue before quickly getting to his feet. "Well, I hope y' don't mind, but I'm gonna go take a shower."

"Not at all," Rogue replied in a slight daze, still processing what just happened, as Remy disappeared down the hall.

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To Be Continued . . .

I am _so_ sorry for the ridiculously long wait between updates and I want to thank all of who've read and reviewed this story. Between school, a case of writer's block, and my computer crashing, it's taken me a bit to get back to this one. Hopefully, I'll have another chapter out soon, so keep your fingers crossed!

Love it? Hate it? Tell me what you think!


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